stagpanther
New member
some "gotchas" for 9mm
Pistols I would advise keeping exactly to the SAAMI specs, they tend to not be as tolerant of variability in cartridge length as a carbine. Things to be careful of: 9mm cases don't have a whole lot of excess pressure strength, so be "judicious" when exploring +p loads. Keep an eye on pocket primer and head stretch, they go fast in the 9mm with higher pressure loads. Get a mouth bell die to assist in seating--otherwise you're going to crunch some cases. Since the 9mm is a straight wall cartridge (OK, a slight taper) the case mouth is important for head spacing in the chamber. Light crimps or none at all if tightly seated are the order of the day. When I reload for a pistol I disassemble the pistol I'm reloading for and use the barrel as a gauge. I'll drop test the cartridge into the chamber, it should "plunk" freely but snugly and should have case support to the base of the case body/top of rim groove. Some pistols barrels might not have full support due to the feed ramp--again watch out for that if you anticipate using strong loads. What works for one pistol may not for another. I bought thousands of RMR bullets while they were available--but I just checked their site and it looks like their availability may have fallen victim to the corona hoard panic. Berry's are a good cheap alternative, but they are thinly plated so watch that you don't push them very fast. I've had a few misfires over the years due to things like bad primers; but when I fire pistol reloads I try to pay careful attention to what the report sounds like and where the bullet impacts, if possible. The reason being if you get a squib load you can turn your handgun into a hand grenade.
Pistols I would advise keeping exactly to the SAAMI specs, they tend to not be as tolerant of variability in cartridge length as a carbine. Things to be careful of: 9mm cases don't have a whole lot of excess pressure strength, so be "judicious" when exploring +p loads. Keep an eye on pocket primer and head stretch, they go fast in the 9mm with higher pressure loads. Get a mouth bell die to assist in seating--otherwise you're going to crunch some cases. Since the 9mm is a straight wall cartridge (OK, a slight taper) the case mouth is important for head spacing in the chamber. Light crimps or none at all if tightly seated are the order of the day. When I reload for a pistol I disassemble the pistol I'm reloading for and use the barrel as a gauge. I'll drop test the cartridge into the chamber, it should "plunk" freely but snugly and should have case support to the base of the case body/top of rim groove. Some pistols barrels might not have full support due to the feed ramp--again watch out for that if you anticipate using strong loads. What works for one pistol may not for another. I bought thousands of RMR bullets while they were available--but I just checked their site and it looks like their availability may have fallen victim to the corona hoard panic. Berry's are a good cheap alternative, but they are thinly plated so watch that you don't push them very fast. I've had a few misfires over the years due to things like bad primers; but when I fire pistol reloads I try to pay careful attention to what the report sounds like and where the bullet impacts, if possible. The reason being if you get a squib load you can turn your handgun into a hand grenade.